BROOKINGS Vandalism containing a written threat specific to a future date led to a Brookings Police Department investigation and an arrest at Brookings High School on Thursday.
Charges are pending, according to a release from BPD Lt. Joe Fishbaugher. The suspect is underage and was released to their parents.
Though both the school district and the police took the threat seriously because of its date-specific nature, students were never in danger, Brookings Superintendent Summer Schultz said.
We pretty much knew who it was and what we were looking at, and it was basically an act of vandalism Schultz said. But all it takes is one student to take a picture and have that get out on social media and then you have a lot of worried parents, so we thought it was best to keep everyone up to date.
We were very convinced there was no real threat, she said. Because both police and the school were confident, students were not evacuated or asked to shelter in place as has happened at BHS in the past.
According to a letter to parents addressed to Bobcat Families from Schultz, the incident involved defacement of school property in one of the bathrooms as well as the threat. Because of the nature of the threat, she wrote, Authorities are taking the matter seriously and are committed to identifying and apprehending those responsible
The BPD release echoed Schultzs comments, saying the situation was treated seriously, but the threat was found to be non-credible. According to the police, There was never a realized threat to the students or staff.
Schultzs statement continued: In consideration of data privacy, sensitive details regarding the ongoing investigation will be handled with utmost care to protect the individuals involved and to comply with privacy regulations. We encourage the BHS community to remain vigilant and report any relevant information to law enforcement. Such acts of vandalism and threats are taken seriously to maintain the safety and security of the school community and to uphold the law.
In an interview with The Register, Schultz said everyone should realize the seriousness of such acts, even without intent to follow through.
In our society, words have consequences, and we need kids to be cognizant of that, Schultz said.
She also stressed the districts partnership with the BPD for bringing the incident to a swift resolution.
I will say, our collaboration with the police department really helps us be able to minimize the time that parents and the community have to worry, she said. I hope that does help keep some of that anxiety away.
A similar incident occurred last spring at Brookings High, when an 18-year-old woman was charged for leaving a bomb threat on a wall in a bathroom.
That situation resulted in a shelter-in-place order for the high school while the BPD swept the buildings on March 9. A statement sent from the district at the time said students were not in any danger.
In October 2018, classes were canceled for a day after a threatening note was found at BHS. Authorities at the time determined the student who left the note had no intent of carrying out the threat.
Linehan is the Registers managing editor and welcomes comments at [email protected].
Leave a Reply